Ginger Sage Maple Glazed Ham – Recipes

Wine Pairing: Domaine de la Chevalerie, Bourgueill “Cuvee Chavalerie” – Organic 2001, France.
This is an old Cab Franc Producer that has been producing traditional Cab Francs for generations. This wine is super robust, extremely herbaceous, and quite elegant. It is extremely compatible with the potent sage and ginger and excellent with the saltiness of the ham. It retails for around $23.

INGREDIENTS

For the Brine

One whole bone in fresh ham, skinned and trimmed, slashes cut, leaving a thin layer of fat
6 quarts water
1 cup sea salt
1 cup light brown sugar
¼ cup fresh ginger, chopped fine
1 whole nutmeg, cracked and broken

For the Spice Rub

2 tablespoons black pepper, cracked medium fine
1 teaspoon ginger powder
1 teaspoon dried sage leaves
2 tablespoons sea salt

For the Glaze

1 cup maple syrup
2 teaspoon fresh ginger, chopped fine
6-8 sage leaves
Sage brush (a bunch of sage tied together to form your glazing brush)

PREPARATION

Brining

In a large pot, bring all items for brining to a boil, stirring occasionally until all the sugar and salt is dissolved. Cool mixture and add ham to pot – mixture should completely cover the ham, if it does not make more brine! Refrigerate for 1 to 2 days, turning the ham a few times. Drain the brine, and let the ham rest on a roasting pan with a rack, allowing the brine residual to drip down into the pan. Pat the ham dry with paper towels.

Glaze

In a medium saucepan, heat the maple syrup, sage leaves, and the ginger to just before boiling, let the maple syrup infuse for about 15 minutes or until the spicy ginger flavor is very apparent. Take off heat, and allow to cool. Set aside. Make your sage brush by twisting kitchen twine around the stems of a bunch of sage leaves.

Spice Rub

Pre-heat oven to 375Â°F.

In a medium bowl, mix up all the spice mix ingredients. Rub mixture all over ham. Place ham in the pre-heated oven, and bake according to weight based on the table below. A 15-pound ham with the bone intact should take a total of 3 to 4 hours. Let the ham bake uninterrupted, and then in the last hour begin the glazing process. Glaze with the sage brush every 10 minutes until entire ham is browned. During the last 10 minutes of cooking, turn the oven temperature up to 425Â°F, and let the ham get a bit crispy and caramelized.